Dating Advice

Written by Australia's best dating coaches

It’s proven that exercise can have play an important role in your love life

Being active, in all aspects of life, has undeniable benefits for your wellbeing, happiness and attractiveness factor. As important as it is to be socially active and engaged at work/school, physical activity has some astounding benefits. If you incorporate exercise into your daily routine, even if it is moderate, you will soon find that your confidence has sky-rocketed, you are feeling happier than ever before and are, by far, more attractive (especially to other active singles).

– Your Body

One of the obvious benefits of exercise is how it is able to transform your body! You can enjoy eating your favorite calorie-filled treats and still look sizzling hot with a bit of exercise! Physical activity is not about getting toothpick thin or becoming a weightlifting champion – it is about taking care of yourself and striving to elicit your best features.

When you work out, even if it is only moderately, you gain a better appreciation of your body. After only a few weeks you will be able to feel your muscles tighten and you will find how much more durable you have become. This will inevitably increase your self-esteem as you will experience the pleasure of having obtained a goal. Besides, who doesn’t like seeing their body change for the better? When you start appreciating and liking your own body more, others will be immediately be drawn to you. After all – confidence is one of the most attractive features in both men and women!

– Happiness & Confidence

Everyone knows that working out improves your physical health and makes you look and feel hotter, but perhaps you were unaware of another huge benefit that exercising has. This may surprise you, but physical exercise has the amazing capability of making you happier!

Numerous studies, carried out around the world, have found that exercise can do wonders for your happiness! Physical movement, even if it is moderate or light, can help fight depression and anxiety, as well as act as a prevention technique for mental disorders! Most of us live in a stressed, competitive environment and it is easy to start feeling anxious or blue. Exercise helps prevent that and allows you to reach a healthier, happier place. Wouldn’t you want to date somebody like that?

– The Statistics Say It All!

If you are still not totally convinced, let’s take a look at some statistics! For instance, a recent study on women of various age groups, from young adults to elderly, examined the relationship between exercise and common disorders such as anxiety and depression. The study found that women, who had included frequent moderate exercise in their routine, were less likely to suffer any symptoms of depression or anxiety. What is more, the study found that the difference in happiness and general wellbeing between exercising women and non-exercising women was the staggering 50%! Can you imagine? Something as simple as running a few miles can have such a huge effect on your happiness!

By no means is working out only beneficial to women – men can also gain a lot by becoming more physically active. A recent study looked into the issue of physical exercise, or lack thereof, in the American male population. The study aimed at discovering whether there was any relationship between psychological functions and exercise, when it came to the gentlemen. The researchers found that men who exercised regularly were happier and less likely to become depressed even when faced with highly undesirable events. More specifically, the study discovered that men who engaged in moderate activity were at 28% reduced risk of anxiety and depression, while men who exercised mildly were at a 17% reduced risk. A man with a great body is certainly something wonderful, but a happy, anxiety-free man is even better!

– Why Does Exercise Make You Happier?

But why does that happen? What is the logic behind the way exercising influences happiness so distinctly? After all, few things are able to make you feel happier, healthier and more excited about life in the long-term. Could exercise be the best way to improve your life as a whole? Many researchers in the field of psychology believe so. As it turns out, physical activity lifts your spirits and makes you more attractive to other people because it improves the hormonal balance in your body. A large new study has examined the somewhat controversial topic of the ways in which hormonal balance or imbalance can influence psychological processes in men and women. The study has confirmed that both men and women prone to depression, anxiety and lowered self-esteem lack a sufficient amount of certain hormones in their bodies. These hormones are called endorphins – the famous “feel good hormones”.

In contrast, it has been found that people who engage in regular physical activity have much higher bodily endorphin levels than other people. Endorphins are also partially responsible for the “runner’s high”, as they cause ecstatic emotions, relieve tension and could even cause mild euphoria. So, when you are feeling stressed, or unhappy, one of the best ways to turn things around is by being physically active and allowing endorphins to make a difference in your life!

– So Why Should You Care?

Feeling undesirable can be extremely difficult and trying to figure out what to do in order to change your situation could turn into a real challenge. After all, who wouldn’t want to feel happy, anxiety-free, attractive and fun to be around? You probably can’t think of anyone, can you? Well, neither can we and that is why we have grown so excited with all the amazing benefits of physical activity! Not only does it transform your body, but it also helps fight negative moods and decreases the chances of suffering any mental disorders, such as depression.

Incorporating exercise into your routine may not be easy at first, but the benefits are way worth the effort! Working out is a wonderful way to change your own perception of yourself. Changing from within and reaching a better, happier place will inevitably make you more desirable than you ever thought possible!

It is common knowledge, or common assumption anyway, that confident people are happier, more successful and better loved. So whenever someone is not doing their best or is undermining their own achievements, it is oh so tempting to say “Just be more confident!” But what does that mean? If you don’t believe in yourself as much as you probably should, can you simply snap your fingers and suddenly equip yourself with that illusive self-confidence? Since you are reading this article, you are probably well aware that it isn’t that easy. Still, understanding confidence will help you achieve a much more grounded perspective and hopefully convince you that high self-esteem is not something you receive, but rather something you need to build for yourself.

What is Confidence?

Basically, self-confidence is the ability to realistically assess your own abilities and strengths, while placing a stronger emphasis on what makes you great, rather than the areas where you might not be perfect. Self-confidence is all about a firm, inner belief that you are worth the love and attention of others, as well as your own, and that you are competent enough to achieve everything you would like. Confident people understand that even if they have not achieved a goal yet, they are able to do so, while people who lack self-confidence may often sabotage themselves because they don’t believe in their own abilities, even when all the resources are readily present. It is very important to remember though that people with low self-esteem are not weaker or less capable than the confident ones. Building upon and improving your self-esteem is completely possible, though it does take effort.

Is Cocky the Same as Confident?

This may come as a shock, but extremely high levels of self-confidence can be just as negative as low self-esteem. Picture confidence like a ball you’ve thrown to the sky – at the beginning, as it leaves your hand, the ball is relatively close to the ground, then, in the middle of its journey, your ball will reach the highest point and finally – it will fall back to the ground. Similarly, very low or very high levels of confidence are equally unsuccessful strategies. While low self-esteem often leads to wasting one’s potential, as well as feelings of misery and loneliness, overconfidence can have other negative repercussions. A study published in the book Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases demonstrates the negative effects of an inconsistence between what people think they know and what they actually know (1). In such cases, overconfidence often leads to misjudgment and therefore serious mistakes such as medical errors and car crashes. If you give it a minute right now, you would probably be able to come up with your own examples of instances when overconfidence, or cockiness, led to unfortunate events. The important thing to remember here is that while self-confidence is important, it should still be an adequate assessment of one’s abilities.

Can Confidence Make a Real Difference when Dating?

If there is one thing you absolutely need to know about confidence, it is this – people tend to perform based on their own self-perceptions. This may sound mind-boggling, but in reality, you are as good as you believe you are! This is not some impractical mantra you should repeat to yourself to feel better – it is the scientifically proven truth. One of the many studies that have proven this point, has been published in the book Maximum Brainpower: Challenging the Brain for Health and Wisdom (2). A group of soldiers, who had been training for a year, were given one final exam – they had to run 25 miles through the desert, a distance they had all successfully completed before. However, the soldiers were divided into a few groups and given different information. While some were aware of the real distance they were to run, others were told they’d run a bit less and a third group was led to believe that they’d run a lot more. The curious results demonstrate the important of self-belief – the soldiers who knew the real distance, or were given a smaller estimate, finished first. On the other hand, those who thought they’d have to run a lot more, gave up after merely 6 miles – a distance they completed every day! So how can that be applied outside of army life? Well, when you believe in your abilities to complete a task, you will likely do a great job at it. And the opposite – when you don’t believe in yourself you will likely fail even at things you can do well.

It is only natural that self-confidence is an essential part of love and attraction as well. Confident people appear to be more attractive because they experience an overall higher level of happiness. When you are confident and happy, your body is also full of the so-called joy hormones – endorphins. Those influence your radiance, energy level, positivity and openness to others. Self-confidence also changes your posture and body language, making you seem more inviting and appealing to others. A popular study, published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, tested out this theory (3). Two groups of men, rated with approximately the same level of attractiveness, were compared. While the first group was asked to use a type of cologne for several days, the second group was not. After a while, both groups were photographed and the images were shown to women, who then rated the men who had used the cologne as much more attractive. Obviously, the women could not differentiate between the body odors of the two groups just by looking at photos, so what happened? The results didn’t have anything to do with the cologne itself but rather with the way in which men’s perception of themselves changed. As the group’s self-confidence increased, so did their attractiveness.

Some Exercises to Build Your Self-Confidence

As you already know, your self-esteem depends on nobody but yourself! Building your confidence may not be easy, since you have formed your self-beliefs over the course of many years, but if you are motivated to do it you will succeed! All you have to do is apply the following confidence-building exercises:

– Positive Self-Talk: As you get up in the morning, smile in the mirror and praise everything that you like about your personality and appearance. Elicit even the tiniest details and repeat throughout the day. This may seem a bit silly at first, but it can do wonders for your confidence! A study, published in the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise compared two groups of tennis players – one that had engaged in positive self-talk and one that had not (4). After a while, the first group showed a significant improvement in performance and decrease in anxiety.

– Exercise: As you already know, happiness and confidence are closely related to the body synthesis of endorphins (the joy hormones). Endorphins are released during physical exercise and so working out can build your confidence both by improving your body image and your happiness levels.

– Enjoy Every Win: It is common among Olympic athletes to train in a way that builds confidence – they celebrate every success, no matter how small, so that they can accumulate the necessary self-esteem to win the gold. You can apply this to your own life – find the small wins and enjoy them!

– Respect Your Self-Image: A study from the Journal of Applied Social Psychology demonstrates what you may already know – people’s self-perceptions are influence by their own clothing (5). Dressing in a way that makes you feel happy and confident, will make a difference!

So have you figured out the key to building confidence? You are it! Higher self-esteem can positively influence all aspects of your life, but only after you have made the conscious decision of working towards that goal.

How often have you heard the “stay positive” advice? If you are like most people, then you have probably been given those words of wisdom more times that you can count! In fact, the repetitiveness of positivity slogans has made them a bit trivial and clichéd, which is why an increasing number of people are starting to view positivity as something better suited to cult-like groups with unrealistic expectations of life, rather than a mindset that can help anyone achieve a happier life. Even though the overexposure of positivity might have given you a somewhat dubious impression of this concept, you should know that there is a lot of scientifically proven truth behind the “stay positive” mantra.

The Basics of Positivity

Before we begin unravelling the real facts behind positivity, we should consider what the term entails. All that stands behind positivity is the tendency of viewing the world, yourself and the events that surround you as positive, rather than negative. However, this certainly does not mean that every single thing that happens in your life should be examined as positive – that is just as unhealthy and unrealistic as constantly staying focused on the direst parts of life. So what would a positive person do when going through a negative event? Acknowledge and respect his or her emotions, allow for time to heal and focus on his or her own capabilities, as well as power to deal with the situation in a healthy manner. It is very important to remember that positivity is not an empty shell – a packaging that allows you to shove sadness or vulnerability into a corner. On the contrary – positivity is all about acknowledging the difficult parts of life, all the while choosing to focus on what is realistically positive.

The Effects of Positivity vs. Negativity

We have all heard that it is good to stay positive and bad to be negative, but why is that? First of all, it is important to focus on the fact that all the processes in your mind influence each other, and gradually build your overall attitudes towards life, yourself and others. Often there are thoughts and emotions you may not realize, because they are part of the subconscious mind, but they still affect the way your think and behave. In that regard, when considering the impact of positivity vs. negativity, we should always keep in mind that these relate to your overall outlook and influence all aspects of your life, from personal wellbeing to career motivation and love.

The relationship between positivity/negativity and happiness can seem like a vicious circle dynamic – the more negative you are, the less you experience happiness but then again, if you are not happy, how can you be positive! The truth is that you can escape this pattern of unhappiness, but before we focus on that, let’s discuss the benefits of optimism. Positive thoughts have been associated with general wellbeing and happiness for centuries, but the physical aspect of it has been examined more recently. A study published in the Annuary of Clinical and Health Psychology, carried out in the University of Madrid, Spain has looked into this relationship. (1) The researchers have found that optimistic people have stronger immune systems because their bodies have better immunocompetence responses. This means that when your immune system is attacked, by something that is as mild as the common flu or even as concerning as cancer, your body will activate more mechanisms to fight off the illness faster and more effectively if you have more positive thoughts. The same study also demonstrates that positive affect leads to a better functioning of the cardiovascular system and, as you know, the cardiovascular system is a large part of healthy functioning.

As we already mentioned, a generally negative outlook on life can prevent you from experiencing as much happiness, as people who tend to view life on the sunny side. But why does that happen? Well, a study from the September 2008 issue of the Journal of Integrative Neuroscience has come up with a conclusive answer (2). The researchers collaborated with a group of 270 healthy volunteers, ages 18-65 and compared two variables – a high positivity bias vs. a high negativity bias. Their results are certainly worth considering – the group of people who viewed life more negatively, reacted to events with more nervousness, hypersensitivity and fear, compared to the group with a more positive outlook. In addition, the negativity bias variable predicted thinking less before reacting to a situation. So how can that relate to your life? Well, as it turns out, if you can become an optimist, you will consider an event more carefully before reacting and will likely have a calm, centered, rational response. Think about who you would prefer to spend time with – someone who reacts to every little thing in panic, or an individual who can take some time to rethink the event and react positively.

Can You Fake It?

Now that you know about all the wonderful effects of positivity, what can you do about it? People often feel as though one is either born with the positive gene or the negative gene and nothing can be done about it. Thankfully, that is not the case. You can rewire you brain and retrain yourself to view the world in a brighter light! Yes, it does take efforts and no, it won’t happen in a day. Transforming your outlook from negative to positive is much like changing your inactive lifestyle to become an athlete. It may be challenging and will probably take some time and effort, but at the end it is all worth it because you will feel happier, healthier and much more attractive.

But what if you are not feeling so great right at this moment and would like to change that? Fake it! Smiling stimulates the brain’s reward system and even though that is mostly true when you are genuinely happy, you can also use this interesting effect to take yourself out of negative moods. Forcing a smile on your face when you are feeling down has the power to reduce negative affect, even if only slightly. In fact, smiling is so rewarding, that a recent UK study by Hewlett Packard found that it can be as stimulating as eating 2,000 chocolate bars or receiving large amounts of cash (3)!

However, do keep in mind that fake smiling is not a good long-term solution. While it can take you out of your negativity for the time being, fake smiling does not actually produce satisfaction and is not attractive to others. As you might remember, we mentioned the Duchenne smile, or a genuine smile, in the article “Social life, interests, passions”. Not only are our brains wired to recognize fake smiles and find them unappealing when seen in others, but as a study by the Michigan State University proves, fake smiling leads to lowered levels of happiness and social withdrawal when you are the one doing it (4). If you are in the habit of slapping a fake smile on your face while at work or a social event, please reconsider – this strategy is actually working against you!

How do I become more positive?

Luckily, if you are motivated, there are many techniques that can help you transform yourself into a charming optimist. Here is a list of the most popular choices:

– Visualization : Picture your happy place, an event you are eagerly expecting, or think about a loved one when you are feeling negative.

– Transform negative thoughts : Whenever you feel like you want to complain, sulk and get lost in negativity, write down your thoughts instead. Then, examine each thought one by one and ask yourself if they are rational. Do you have any proof or are you just being negative? Once you have done that, try writing down more positive and realistic substitutions for those negative thoughts.

– Meditation : The practice of meditation, even for several minutes per day, has been proven to balance out your central nervous system, reduce stress and increase positivity.

– Acknowledgment : Try deliberately focusing on the positive in your life. Challenge yourself to recording at least one thing per day that made you happy and soon you will see the results!

Positivity and negativity can be great forces in your life and while it may sometimes feel like your mood is controlling you, now you know it is quite the opposite – you have the power to build your own positivity from the ground up!

Romantic relationships can sometimes seem like an utterly complicated maze, the way through which you can never quite figure out. While romance is not always straightforward, things don’t have to be that complicated either. To make it easier on yourself, become more self-confident and attractive, you should know how different aspects of your life influence your desirability and romantic prospects. You may be surprised to learn this, but social life, interests and passions are closely related to your romantic successes! The way you handle those aspects of life can influence your desirability by making a solid impression on others. Read on and find out how to use those components of life to your advantage!

– How social life relates to dating

Social life and romantic prospects have a seemingly obvious relationship. When you have an active social life, you are more likely to meet new, interesting people and thus are more likely to find a suitable new partner. Besides, high sociability levels mean you know an array of people with various interests, so you have more experience in diverse situations. Having entertaining stories to tell will likely make a good impression on potential partners and will therefore increase your chances of entering into a new, exciting relationship.

Of course not everyone can or should be the real-life definition of a social butterfly. While some need more social experiences and have a constant desire to be around people, others prefer spending some alone time and reflecting on their inner world. Neither characteristic is better than the other – the two behavioral styles are simply different! Remember, belonging to one group or the other does not mean you have better or worse chances for successful romantic partnerships! Still, even if you don’t enjoy socializing that much or don’t have that many friends, that does not mean you should not be friendly when meeting someone new. Coming across as positive, upbeat and easy going is a sure way to earn lots of points with any potential partner or new friend! A big smile is always a fantastic way to show the world that you are open to new experiences and relationships. Besides, people who smile often are more memorable and are viewed as more pleasant to be around. However, there is one more very significant aspect of smiling – for a smile to work its charm on others, it has to be genuine, or also called a Duchenne smile, in honor of the scientist who made the distinction between the types of smiling.

Research conducted in the University of Wisconsin examined the smiles of participants upon watching two short movies. The researchers found that when the subjects viewed footage of genuine smiling, they mimicked the action. On top of that, the regions of the brain commonly associated with positive affect fired up! This means that when we see someone smiling genuinely, we reciprocate and experience pleasure. In that regard, smiling and behaving in a positive manner in social situations can make you more desirable and attractive to others, thus enabling you to find new partners with ease!

– Interests and romance

Having interests obviously makes you more fun and attractive to others. After all, who would not want to spend time with someone exciting that has unique hobbies and has lived through exciting experiences? Mastering rare skills can help you stand out from the crowd and create an instantaneous positive impression on the people you meet. Besides, hobbies can open up your world to many fascinating areas of life you never even thought possible! For instance, imagine you decided to learn a new language. Once you were able to carry a simple conversation in that language, you would already have a key in your hand that opens up an exciting new door to travel and world exploration! Now that you know another language you are able to meet new people from different cultures and experience more interesting events. If you don’t have a particular interest in languages – don’t worry! This principle can easily be applied to any hobby.

Apart from making you more distinguishable and pleasant to be around, intersects have another great function – they help you meet suitable partners, with similar likes and dislikes. While many believe that “opposites attracts”, and are probably occasionally right, a number of studies show that the more similarities two people have, the more attracted they are to each other. The University of Manitoba has come up with a collective research paper on 3 previous studies examining the relationship of partner similarities and romantic success. All 3 studies indicate that stable, quality relationships are usually characterized by similarities of values, beliefs and interests between the partners. That does not mean that you will feel best with someone who is just like you. In fact, that would probably be rather boring, but finding a partner with whom you share an interest can propel your relationship.

Last but not least, numerous studies indicate that long-term relationships are happier and more successful when the two partners are able to bond over a common hobby or interest. This is because you are able to connect with your partner and step out of mundane concerns. Sharing a hobby or interest can also increase the romance level in a relationship and help the partners achieve stronger appreciation for each other.

– Passions make you attractive!

Being passionate about something, even if it seems completely silly, can in fact make you far more attractive and desirable! Much like interests, passions have a positive impact on your experience of life and open you up to fascinating new worlds. Though passions and hobbies can do many similar things for you and your attractiveness, passions are much stronger and therefore can influence your behavior and personality much more. Being passionate about something can excite a potential partner as it reveals your fiery, driven side. Don’t be afraid to express excitement about your passions even if they seem utterly unusual – sure, someone might think they are silly, but if you keep them hidden away then you are denying potential partners access to an intriguing and unique side of yourself!

Being friendly and taking the time to cater to your interests and passions can make a huge difference in your love life! Remember though – it is important to stay genuine, otherwise the new people you meet will quickly spot your dishonesty and will likely be put off. A genuine smile and a unique interest will certainly help you stand out from the crowd!

Being attractive and datable may not seem directly related to your work and career, but in fact studies show that there is a significant correlation between the two. We are not talking about the gold digger complex where what you do for a living makes you appealing to others because of the money you make. While money is certainly an important aspect of life, your work or better yet – your career, can be significant on a much deeper level. It can have a profound effect on your personality, happiness and attractiveness. We are here to help you recognize all the great ways in which what you do professionally can influence your personal life in a positive, inspiring way. You will certainly change your outlook on work after reading this!

– Does it matter what you do?

What do you think – does it matter what you do for a living? The short answer is no. Whether you are engaged in strenuous manual labor at lower wages or a high-pressure intellectual job with very high income, has little to no impact on your happiness or attractiveness levels. Even though people tend to think that higher level, prestigious positions bring happiness and general wellbeing, that is not necessarily so. As it turns out, it doesn’t really matter what you do for a living, as long as you enjoy it and feel satisfied with your work. A study, carried out in the Warsaw Institute of Psychology, has examined the relationship between professional life and personal happiness. Their results show a few factors that determine your overall work satisfaction – the results you are able to achieve, physical conditions of your workplace, assessment and professional relationships, receiving challenging and engaging tasks. The study has confirmed that people who find all of the above factors satisfactory are happier at work, despite of their specific employment situation. So, you can be a janitor or a large company CEO – as long as you feel interested and engaged in your work you will feel happy. And, of course, happiness makes you more attractive to others! Picture dating someone who enjoys his or her work and is delighted to be engaged in it. Inspiring, isn’t it? Now imagine being with someone who constantly complains of how stressful and horrible their job is. Definitely not as fun to be around.

– How your career satisfaction can influence your partner

While loving what you do professionally is something that most strive towards, you may not know that your work happiness can literally spill over to your partner, immediately making you more desirable! A study of 50 dual-earner couples has examined the relationship between career satisfaction and happiness levels within the romantic couple. The subjects filled a booklet on a daily basis, which led the researchers to a very intriguing conclusion. As it turns out, employees who were happy and engaged with their daily professional tasks were also happier at home. When one partner felt happy, this literally spilled over to the other partner, increasing his or her happiness levels as well. The researchers found that those couples, in which both partners were satisfied with their careers, had the most fulfilling relationships!

– Your career satisfaction makes you more desirable!

Experiencing work/career satisfaction can have a great impact on your confidence and self-esteem. People who feel that their job matters are more motivated to achieve better results and thus feel prouder when they reach higher goals. This goal-oriented behavior inevitably influences your confidence in a very positive way. Consequently, you become more attractive, as you exude confidence, thus reassuring any potential partner of your desirability. But remember – confident does not mean cocky. A down-to-earth approach to life, paired with believing in yourself, can really make a difference for the better in your love life!

A study published in the “Journal of Marriage and Family” examined the relationship between personal values and romantic life. The study was conducted over an impressive 50 year period and included participants of various age groups. One of the conclusions they reached was in regard to the career– attractiveness ratio. The researchers found a tendency – people are increasingly prone to choosing partners that are more motivated to establish a career and are satisfied with their work on a daily basis. Those individuals tend to exhibit higher self-esteem levels, which has apparently become an increasingly attractive feature in the last 50 years.

– The other side of the coin

Although work/career satisfaction and engagement can certainly contribute to your general happiness, attractiveness and relationship fulfillment, caution should be applied. Prioritizing professional obligations over personal ones can sabotage your relationship and make you unavailable to potential romantic partners. A 7 year follow-up study of MBA students has found that those who gave priority to family and personal goals, as opposed to work goals, reached a much higher levels of general well-being. This may seem contradictory to what we talked about above, but in fact it indicatesa need for balance. While it is crucial to choose a job that makes you feel happy and challenges you in positive ways, it is also extremely important to remember that no amount of work or money can be a substitute for personal relationships. By overworking you may be sacrificing time with your loved ones or decreasing your chances of meeting a suitable partner.

– Being happy actually makes you better at your job!

To end on a happy note, we’d like to talk about one last benefit of finding balance between your work and personal life. As you already know, career satisfaction could help you achieve a more fulfilling romantic relationship, as well as increase your attractiveness levels. Various studies indicate that people who feel an overall sense of well-being are able to better concentrate on their work obligations and achieve bigger goals. A general state of life satisfaction will also make you more upbeat and pleasant to be around, which means establishing more positive relationships with your coworkers.

Finding a career that is right for your can increase your personal happiness, while personal happiness makes you more satisfied and better at your job! Achieving this virtuous circle may require some changes in your life, but the results would certainly be worth the efforts!